Republicans rode a wave of voter discontent to seize control of the US Senate, dealing a punishing blow to US President Barack Obama that will limit his legislative agenda and may force him to make a course correction for his last two years in office.
The Republican rout on Tuesday was wide and deep in what was bound to be seen as a sharp rebuke to Obama, who has lurched from crisis to crisis and whose unpopularity made him unwelcome to Democratic candidates in many contested states.
Obama, who watched election returns from the White House and saw little to warm his spirits, scheduled a news conference for 2:50pm EST (1950 GMT) on Wednesday. He invited Democratic and Republican leaders of Congress to the White House on Friday to take stock of the new political landscape.
The Republicans also strengthened their grip on the US House of Representatives. When the new Congress takes power in January, they will be in charge of both chambers for the first time since elections in 2006.
The Republican takeover in the Senate will force Obama to scale back his ambitions to either executive actions that do not require legislative approval, or items that might gain bipartisan support, such as trade agreements and tax reform.
It also will test his ability to compromise with newly empowered political opponents who have been resisting his legislative agenda since he was first elected in 2008. Americans elected him to a second and final four-year term in 2012.
New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, a possible presidential candidate in 2016 who campaigned for fellow Republicans around the country, said the Senate results put the onus on Obama.
“We need to get things done ... and put things on the president’s desk and make the president make some decisions,” Christie said on “CBS This Morning.” He cited tax reform, a national energy policy and job stimulation as pressing needs.
The shift in the Senate also could prompt a White House staff turnover as some exhausted members of the Obama team consider departing in favor of fresh legs. {ID:nL1N0SS0FC]
Before the election results, the White House had signaled no major changes for Obama. Officials said Obama would seek common ground with Congress in such areas as trade and infrastructure.
“The president is going to continue to look for partners on Capitol Hill, Democrats or Republicans, who are willing to work with him on policies that benefit middle-class families,” White House spokesman Josh Earnest said on Tuesday.
Obama, a one-term senator before he became president, has often been faulted for not developing closer relations with lawmakers.
He will find one familiar face in a powerful new position. Republican Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, who won a tough re-election battle against Democrat Alison Lundergan Grimes, will replace Democrat Harry Reid as Senate majority leader. Reid has been one of Obama’s top political allies and helped steer the president’s signature healthcare law through the Senate in 2010.
“Some things don’t change after tonight. I don’t expect the president to wake up tomorrow and view the world any differently than he did when he woke up this morning. He knows I won’t either. But we do have an obligation to work together on issues where we can agree,” McConnell said in his victory speech in Louisville.